Mauricio Giovanini

Born in Cordoba in Argentina, Mauricio Giovanini studied at a local French gastronomy
college. In 2003, shortly after relocating to Spain and settling in Marbella, he and his wife
Pia took the plunge and opened their rst restaurant, “Messina”. The tiny original premises
occupied a humble side street corner, hidden in the old town away from the tourist shops and
orange trees. With barely enough room for 20 patrons, word of Messina’s innovative fare
spread fast nonetheless throughout the region’s established restaurant scene.
A self-taught chef is a rare nd indeed yet Mauricio is just that. Not for him the usual
training ground of a stint in some famous svengali’s kitchen. Mauricio has always been his
own boss on his own turf. A brave choice, perhaps, but ultimately one which has allowed him
to develop unique skills.

In this age of high prole culinary posturing, an emerging chef might struggle to forge an
identity. Having already found his feet among his peers, Mauricio’s eureka moment came
when he toyed with the development of essential vegetable juices.

Mauricio knows that the source of avour of all vegetables lies in their natural moisture.
Once coaxed from the esh of their host, these essential juices are used to enhance some of
his existing preparations, creating a sensory panorama of concentrates, meringues, creams
and broths. Ground-breaking stuff, certainly, and an unexpected early trademark for
Mauricio, but what next?
Mauricio currently works with natural thickeners made from dried fruit and collagen
extracted from sh and various kinds of meat. By combining these elements and altering
their respective proportions, he makes his own gelatins which can be adjusted to create
countless different textures.

This was the work Mauricio presented at Madrid Fusion 2017, arguably the world’s most
important gastronomy exhibition and where his show of expertise was lauded as one of the
highlights of the event.

With Messina repeatedly hailed by the national press, Mauricio has a long list of awards to
his name. The greatest recognition of his work thus far, however, is without doubt the
Michelin Star awarded to Messina in the 2016 Guide and renewed once again in 2017.